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At tax time, think TaxCut

Looking to dummy-proof my first foray into itemizing deductions, I turned to H&R Block’s TaxCut. I’ve now used TaxCut Basic twice to prepare my income-tax return, and the online app has hit the mark both times. Instructions are clear. Progress to filing is noted throughout the process. Information can be saved at any point and is as you left it upon return. What you owe—or what the government owes you—is featured in a running tally in the upper right-hand corner of the interface. And with each new screen, relevant FAQs appear in the sidebar, and their answers appear in a dynamic Web 2.0 bubble that keeps your information on screen where you need it. I prepared and filed my federal and state returns in just a few hours, not counting some hunting for documents I should’ve had closer at hand, for a total of $49.95.

Positive aspects of the experience outweighed negative, but they included a Roth IRA interface that asked for my entire contribution history despite the fact that none of these contributions were tax-deductible. Also, having begun my return but not having filed it, I continued to receive e-mails that said I could file using TaxCut for free. When I clicked on one of the links to the free interface, I was informed that I’d already begun a Federal return that would cost me $14.95 to file—would I like to begin the free version? What I couldn’t divine is whether or not starting that free version would erase the information I’d spent the better part of a Saturday entering. I stayed with the $14.95, but didn’t appreciate the taunting or the confusion.

Macworld has a head-to-head review of TaxCut and Turbo Tax. If you’re a last-minute kind of person, one of these program’s might just make your day.